SAMSUNG DEX Replaced My Laptop for A Week (Biggest Problems & Best Features)

Video Description

Samsung phones have a hidden feature (DEX) that gives you a desktop interface when you plug into a monitor. But how good is this? Can it actually replace my laptop? Follow me on social media! (it's always just @mikeobrienn) Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikeobrienn Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeobrienn TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mikeobrienn About me: https://mikeobrienmedia.com Please comment below with any questions you might have. Thank you all for watching! I appreciate you! Disclaimer: This video is purely based on my experiences, research, and opinions. You and only you are responsible for your actions. I made this channel to advise viewers and I truly hope to help you all out. I love making these videos and connecting with my viewers! One or more of the products shown in this video may have been sent to me at no cost. This does not influence my opinions; I always cover both pros and cons. This channel is monetized via YouTube ads as well as some affiliate links. If a purchase is made after clicking the link, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to the buyer. Thank you all for watching! ADDITIONAL VIDEO NOTES: Samsung’s flagship phones have a hidden feature called Dex which essentially allows you to replace your desktop or laptop with your phone. And now that Phones are more powerful than some laptops were just a few years ago, Dex is becoming more and more feasible and some people claim you can use it to entirely replace your laptop. So I am doing just that. I am going to lock my laptop in a closet to find out how real this is and answer the question; Can I do everything I normally do on a laptop but with my phone? Think about it, this would be pretty great. It has all my accounts, it has NFC and GPS which my laptop does not have, all my bluetooth devices are already connected, and it would be pretty cool to roll up to a meeting with no laptop, plug your phone in, and present from there, right? Let’s start off with the basics. Browsing the web and researching an upcoming trip If I am going to use Dex, you need a flagship Samsung phone. Think S-series or Fold series. The A-series and Flips just don’t have it unfortunately. All I need to do is plug into HDMI. There are several setups. Wired monitor, wireless monitor. Mouse & keyboard vs using phone for both. I am going to switch between desktop and laptop setups Tour of Samsung Dex Show the Dex UI Discuss controls - connect bluetooth keyboard or mouse Show the device I will be using - the Nexdock XL Tip - Make sure to switch to desktop mode on your browser You get window management Now let’s manage emails I am so impressed by the speed of this. It works like a laptop should Dex works sort of like a hybrid between a laptop and a tablet/ Some things pop up in new windows, like Gmail responses All the usual hotkeys work (usually - sometimes they do not) The volume controls here control the device speakers, not my earbuds The trackpad is terrible, and like I said, the display is awful. but I was able to get work done. The keyboard was better than using my phone. I can type a lot faster The touchscreen works quite well actually You can use this wirelessly, but you get too much lag for my liking Nice that my phone charges Nice that you can unplug and walk away and your music continues, everything is saved, and you can pick up exactly where you left off. Let's go back to the office. Talk about the hardware of this laptop thing Can also use Dex wirelessly and charge on the laptop - cool, but not worth it Managing email - how this works Signing documents with s-pen I like how apps stay open when I unplug and then come back to Dex. Video call test Editing videos - software support limitations Maybe capcut? Now I want to copy files from my camera to my hard drive Print test COMPLAINTS The hardware sucks here. Desktop mode is good All the usual distractions are present I am used to doing everything in my browser. Needing to go to different apps for YouTube, etc. can be a bit of a muscle memory retraining Some apps were optimized, many worked and were ok, some worked but sucked, and very few if any didn’t work at all I wish there was a bit more separation between phone settings and Dex settings - e.g. I want light mode sometimes on this crappy display but dark mode on my phone. PROS This is legitimately very fast. I can get a lot done with this and it’s come a long way over the years with app support Keep everything in one place. You basically get a computer with great cameras, a pen and touch screen, NFC, GPS, and cellular data. No more hotspots when traveling